Popcorn displayed in a shaft of light. Sivas, Turkey
May 06, 2013
Mo' Light
Popcorn displayed in a shaft of light. Sivas, Turkey
May 04, 2013
A Spot of Light
Siem Reap's Pasar Chas is dark with the occasional beam of light from skylights. You can probably guess where I hung out most of the time.
March 15, 2013
Love Photography? Love Food? Join me in Turkey this Fall!
I am teaming up with cook / writer Olga Tikhonova Irez for a 4 day 5 night cooking and photography workshop. The workshop is just hours outside of Istanbul set in the beautiful hills overlooking Sapanca Lake. We'll cook, hit markets, tour a historic town, take in the Turkish countryside and photograph every thing along the way.
We'll work on visual story telling with food being the central theme. You'll have one on one time with me to review work and to develop specific photography skills. All skill levels are accepted - all you need to bring is the desire to improve your photography.
Go here for more details or email me directly. Places are on a first come first serve basis so make your plans now!
February 15, 2013
Postcard from Istanbul
We arrived on Monday to a cold, grey rainy Istanbul which in itself is not a bad thing unless you're trying to get over jet lag. On Tuesday we were greeted by perfectly clear skies..in fact I'm not sure if I've seen the city that clear before. We spent the day walking, strolling favorite neighborhoods, stopping to drink tea at our favorite spots..nothing special. As evening approached we took the ferry from Karakoy to Kadakoy staying on the ferry and returning again..because..well..that's how you end a perfect day in Istanbul.
January 18, 2013
Koh Phangan for the New York Times : 46 Places to Go in 2013
('Drink Gasoline' ? On Koh Phangan that might be called an apertif.)
I was assigned to shoot Koh Phangan for "46 Places to Go in 2013" for The New York Times.
Shooting on a tropical island - rough duty? Actually, yes - it's work. A bit about my 36 Hours in Koh Phangan.
As with most assignments I got about a weeks notice. I had a 4 day shoot in Malacca prior to so I would have to make my way from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur, then Bangkok to Koh Samui and on to Koh Phangan by ferry. I had 1 day to shoot the assignment and 6 connections to get there. I would travel on a Thursday, shoot Friday and part of Saturday, fly back to Penang Saturday night via Bangkok, edit and caption images Sunday and upload to the NYT's ftp so that they had the images Monday morning, December 24th.
Travel is always a little stressful and in this case I had no room for error. It was peak season and The Times needed the images before the Christmas holidays. A small screw up along the travel chain and I'd have some problems.
I had the article as a guide and made as many phone calls as I could to set up appointments and get a feel for the island. Although I had been to Koh Samui (which is adjacent to Koh Phangan) I had no idea what to expect from Koh Phangan (except it's well deserved reputation for sillyness) but figured with a little planning and some good luck I could find the 'anti-Phangan'.
I arrived at my hotel in Haad Rin at about 8:30pm on Thursday and immediately set about finding a car for the next day's excursions. I had choosen Haad Rin, not because I had hoped to party all night but because I planned to roughly circle the island starting first in the north east corner for sunrise and ending on the southwest end for sunset. Haad Rin was the halfway point and since it was a little larger I figured I would be assured of booking a reasonably priced car for the day and as luck would have it I was able to do just that. So all there was to do at this stage was grab a beer, have some dinner and set the alarm for a 4:30am wake up.
Next morning I poked my head out the door and hear the faint sounds of techno music. The driver shows up (right on time) and we make our way in the dark, past groups of late night (early morning?) partiers and off to our first appointment at Anantara Resort to catch the sunrise.
And it was an amazing sunrise (hightened by the smug feeling that I was up while others were just turning in for the night). So often I'll get up early for a 'non-event' sunrise but thankfully not this time. I gotta say that putting a few images in the bag early on (if even before my first cup of coffee) is a nice feeling.
By 7:30, was off to my next destination, shooting at the Buri Rasa Resort and along Thong Nai Pan Noi Beach (pictured above).I had made a noon appointment so my next order of business was to search out quiet, local destinations. Wat Khao Tham seemed to fit the bill so I stopped by and had a look around.
(Sculpture depicting an elephant and a monkey making an offering to Buddha. Wat Khao Tham).
(A resident monk at Wat Khao Tham).
The only problem with Wat Khao Tham is that the name sounded much like the Thai rice porridge khao tom and since I had not had breakfast yet (it was now approaching 11am) I figured it was time to find something tasty.
A roadside stop offering grilled chicken (gai yang), grilled pork (moo yang) and green papaya salad (som tom) fit the bill perfectly. A quick refresher and I was off to my next appointment at The Yoga Studio.
The Yoga Studio is owned and operated by Canadian transplant Melanie Schorr. Melanie told me that when she proposed to move to Koh Phangan with her Thai husband that his family argued against it saying that the island was full of 'druggies and criminals' but from her quiet end of the island they could not have been further from the truth.
Next up I hiked up to the Phaeng Waterfall. Admittedly it was dry season so not much happening at the falls but still a nice place to hike around and enjoy nature.
(Durian picked wild from the jungles).
As afternoon approached I headed to the western side of the island checking out fishing harbors and hanging out briefly with a woman drying fish (below).
Heading to my 4pm appointment at the Kupu Kupu Resort I was surprised to learn that it was still under construction, but since I had made an appointment with the resort's manager they had happily set up a room (one of the images from Kupu Kupu ended up as the lead to the article).
With the sun starting to set I headed to my final destination, Beach Lounge and a walk along Thong Sala Beach.
This is often where it starts getting toughest in an assignment - that point where you've already had a super long day and you see others kicking back and you still have work to do.
Sunset and back to the hotel by 8-ish to grab dinner and download the days images. I felt like I had a pretty good range of images but since I had some time in the morning that I'd head out again with an eye for getting a sunrise landscape from the hilltop at Wat Khao Tham.
Out the door at 6am but no joy. Grey skies gave rise to rain and finally lightening chased me off Wat Khao Tham. I cruised up the coast a bit stopping at the Thongsala Market but really not much happening.
Saturday had been the day - I felt lucky (and relieved). I returned to see my hotel for the first time in daylight (frankly it looked better at night..) packed up and headed for the ferry to Samui for the flight to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and home to Penang).
I submitted the images Monday (to a nice thumbs up from my editor,). In the end one image ran
but that's how it goes. It's work but I wouldn't have it any other way.
October 15, 2012
Market Clicker
Every market tells a story and informs you about where you are. Whether it is the riot of color of a south Asia market or the carefully stacked produce of a Turkish market each market and each locale offers a unique glimpse into a country and its' culture. I love photographing markets so I thought I would offer a few tips on photographing in markets for the lastest edition of Zester Daily. Click on here for the article and slideshow.
And in case you missed it I also offered tips on photographing food. Want more? Drop me a line about one on one photography tours.
October 13, 2012
Mono Markets
Markets are a riot of color but strip that away and out pops a hidden world of texture, angular lines and nuanced movements. I find that color can almost be detracting in that it pulls my eye away from the essential qualities of a market. I've been experimenting with black and white conversions for some of my market work and wanted to post some to see what people thought. Drop me a line and let me know.
September 22, 2012
Mexico City for the New York Times
I had the great privilege to collaborate with chef and restaurateur Roberto Santibanez and writer J.J.Goode as we ate our way across Mexico City for the New York Times. Roberto brings so much depth and knowledge that I almost forgot to take photos. All I can say is that he is just an incredible guy. I can't wait to eat at both Fonda restaurants next time I'm back in the States. This is the second time I've worked with JJ (we collaborated on this piece for the NYT's) and as before, a real joy. A big thanks for making my first trip to Ciudad de Mexico an incredible experience.
Check out Roberto and JJ's latest book Tacos, Tortas and Tamales (pre-order now or in bookstores October 16) and their classic Truly Mexican.
A few out takes from my shoot and some found audio courtesy of a street musician in the idyllic neighborhood of Coyoacan. Enjoy!
September 03, 2012
Chow Kit for the IHT
I spent a couple of mornings earlier in the month in Kuala Lumpur's Chow Kit market photographing a story that appears in today's New York Times Global Edition. Click here for slideshow.
I've had a long fascination with Chow Kit and (as many of you know) markets in general so this assignment was a real treat. But Chow Kit is special. To me it represents the promise of a multi-cultural Malaysia where Malay, Chinese and Indians come together with food being the element that binds. It's also a look into Malaysia's possible future where traditions - like a producer of tofu working in his family's 30 year old shop or a seller of kampung lemons (who now sells as much online as in his Chow kit shop) that work side by side with new immigrants from Africa and Indonesia. I'm not saying it is one big happy family but it is an interesting barometer for where the country could be going. This is one place I've got bookmarked for future visits.
January 07, 2012
Foraging
The brief went something like this : 'stay at a luxury resort in northern Thailand, forage for wild herbs, fruits and vegetables, pick organic vegetables from the properties' garden, watch prep and cooking, shoot portraits of chef, eat said food, ride elephants (OK - I added that part), bring back pretty pictures.'
I heart my job!
Here are the outtakes. Look for the final results in this month's Travel + Leisure SEA.
